First Platoon

First Platoon PDF Author: Annie Jacobsen
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1524746665
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 418

Get Book Here

Book Description
A powerful story of war in our time, of love of country, the experience of tragedy, and a platoon at the center of it all. This is a story that starts off close and goes very big. The initial part of the story might sound familiar at first: it is about a platoon of mostly nineteen-year-old boys sent to Afghanistan, and an experience that ends abruptly in catastrophe. Their part of the story folds into the next: inexorably linked to those soldiers and never comprehensively reported before is the U.S. Department of Defense’s quest to build the world’s most powerful biometrics database, with the ability to identify, monitor, catalog, and police people all over the world. First Platoon is an American saga that illuminates a transformation of society made possible by this new technology. Part war story, part legal drama, it is about identity in the age of identification. About humanity—physical bravery, trauma, PTSD, a yearning to do right and good—in the age of biometrics, which reduce people to iris scans, fingerprint scans, voice patterning, detection by odor, gait, and more. And about the power of point of view in a burgeoning surveillance state. Based on hundreds of formerly classified documents, FOIA requests, and exclusive interviews, First Platoon is an investigative exposé by a master chronicler of government secrets. First Platoon reveals a post–9/11 Pentagon whose identification machines have grown more capable than the humans who must make sense of them. A Pentagon so powerful it can cover up its own internal mistakes in pursuit of endless wars. And a people at its mercy, in its last moments before a fundamental change so complete it might be impossible to take back.

First Platoon

First Platoon PDF Author: Annie Jacobsen
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1524746665
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 418

Get Book Here

Book Description
A powerful story of war in our time, of love of country, the experience of tragedy, and a platoon at the center of it all. This is a story that starts off close and goes very big. The initial part of the story might sound familiar at first: it is about a platoon of mostly nineteen-year-old boys sent to Afghanistan, and an experience that ends abruptly in catastrophe. Their part of the story folds into the next: inexorably linked to those soldiers and never comprehensively reported before is the U.S. Department of Defense’s quest to build the world’s most powerful biometrics database, with the ability to identify, monitor, catalog, and police people all over the world. First Platoon is an American saga that illuminates a transformation of society made possible by this new technology. Part war story, part legal drama, it is about identity in the age of identification. About humanity—physical bravery, trauma, PTSD, a yearning to do right and good—in the age of biometrics, which reduce people to iris scans, fingerprint scans, voice patterning, detection by odor, gait, and more. And about the power of point of view in a burgeoning surveillance state. Based on hundreds of formerly classified documents, FOIA requests, and exclusive interviews, First Platoon is an investigative exposé by a master chronicler of government secrets. First Platoon reveals a post–9/11 Pentagon whose identification machines have grown more capable than the humans who must make sense of them. A Pentagon so powerful it can cover up its own internal mistakes in pursuit of endless wars. And a people at its mercy, in its last moments before a fundamental change so complete it might be impossible to take back.

Platoon Leader

Platoon Leader PDF Author: James R. McDonough
Publisher: Presidio Press
ISBN: 0307416380
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 258

Get Book Here

Book Description
A remarkable memoir of small-unit leadership and the coming of age of a young soldier in combat in Vietnam.' "Using a lean style and a sense of pacing drawn from the tautest of novels, McDonough has produced a gripping account of his first command, a U.S. platoon taking part in the 'strategic hamlet' program. . . . Rather than present a potpourri of combat yarns. . . McDonough has focused a seasoned storyteller’s eye on the details, people, and incidents that best communicate a visceral feel of command under fire. . . . For the author’s honesty and literary craftsmanship, Platoon Leader seems destined to be read for a long time by second lieutenants trying to prepare for the future, veterans trying to remember the past, and civilians trying to understand what the profession of arms is all about.”–Army Times

The First 100 Days of Platoon Leadership - Handbook (Lessons and Best Practices)

The First 100 Days of Platoon Leadership - Handbook (Lessons and Best Practices) PDF Author: U. S. Army
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 9781678184230
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 94

Get Book Here

Book Description
The platoon leader and platoon sergeant are two of the most important leaders in the U.S. Army. The way platoon leaders and sergeants work together as a team can cause the success or failure of companies, battalions, brigades, and divisions. They represent the leading edge of leadership on and off the battlefield. On the battlefield, platoon leaders and sergeants build their platoons, empower squad leaders, integrate outside elements, and use troop-leading procedures to plan and lead. Off the battlefield, platoon leaders and sergeants prepare their platoon for combat through tough training. The platoon leader and platoon sergeant's ability to coach, teach, and mentor their Soldiers leads directly to the readiness of our formations. World-wide, platoon leaders and sergeants are personally leading the U.S. Army at the lowest level. This handbook is a guide for new leaders to help prepare them for a critical crucible of leadership that will determine the U.S. Army's ability to fight and win our country's wars.

Black Hearts

Black Hearts PDF Author: Jim Frederick
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 0307450988
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 474

Get Book Here

Book Description
“Riveting. . . a testament to a misconceived war, and to the ease with which ordinary men, under certain conditions, can transform into monsters.”—New York Times Book Review This is the story of a small group of soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division’s fabled 502nd Infantry Regiment—a unit known as “the Black Heart Brigade.” Deployed in late 2005 to Iraq’s so-called Triangle of Death, a veritable meat grinder just south of Baghdad, the Black Hearts found themselves in arguably the country’s most dangerous location at its most dangerous time. Hit by near-daily mortars, gunfire, and roadside bomb attacks, suffering from a particularly heavy death toll, and enduring a chronic breakdown in leadership, members of one Black Heart platoon—1st Platoon, Bravo Company, 1st Battalion—descended, over their year-long tour of duty, into a tailspin of poor discipline, substance abuse, and brutality. Four 1st Platoon soldiers would perpetrate one of the most heinous war crimes U.S. forces have committed during the Iraq War—the rape of a fourteen-year-old Iraqi girl and the cold-blooded execution of her and her family. Three other 1st Platoon soldiers would be overrun at a remote outpost—one killed immediately and two taken from the scene, their mutilated corpses found days later booby-trapped with explosives. Black Hearts is an unflinching account of the epic, tragic deployment of 1st Platoon. Drawing on hundreds of hours of in-depth interviews with Black Heart soldiers and first-hand reporting from the Triangle of Death, Black Hearts is a timeless story about men in combat and the fragility of character in the savage crucible of warfare. But it is also a timely warning of new dangers emerging in the way American soldiers are led on the battlefields of the twenty-first century.

After My Lai

After My Lai PDF Author: Gary W Bray
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
ISBN: 0806183195
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 182

Get Book Here

Book Description
In the fall of 1969, Gary Bray landed in South Vietnam as a recently married, freshly minted second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. His assignment was not enviable: leading the platoon whose former members had committed the My Lai massacre—the murder of hundreds of Vietnamese civilians—eighteen months earlier. In this compelling memoir, he shares his experiences of Vietnam in the direct wake of that terrible event. After My Lai documents the war’s horrific effects on both sides of the struggle. Bray presents the Vietnam conflict as the touchstone of a generation, telling how his feelings about being a soldier—a family tradition—were dramatically altered by the events he participated in and witnessed. He explains how young men, angered by the deaths of comrades and with no release for their frustration, can sometimes cross the line of legal and ethical behavior. Bray’s account differs from many Vietnam memoirs in his vivid descriptions of platoon-level tactical operations. As he builds suspense in moment-by-moment depictions of men plunging into jungle gloom and tragedy, he demonstrates that what led to My Lai is easier to comprehend once you’ve walked the booby-trapped ground yourself. An intensely personal story, gracefully rendered yet brutally honest, After My Lai reveals how warfare changes you forever.

Outlaw Platoon

Outlaw Platoon PDF Author: Sean Parnell
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0062066412
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 308

Get Book Here

Book Description
A riveting story of American fighting men, Outlaw Platoon is Lieutenant Sean Parnell’s stunning personal account of the legendary U.S. Army’s 10th Mountain Division’s heroic stand in the mountains of Afghanistan. Acclaimed for its vivid, poignant, and honest recreation of sixteen brutal months of nearly continuous battle in the deadly Hindu Kesh, Outlaw Platoon is a Band of Brothers or We Were Soldiers Once and Young for the early 21st century—an action-packed, highly emotional true story of enormous sacrifice and bravery. A magnificent account of heroes, renegades, infidels, and brothers, it stands with Sebastian Junger’s War as one of the most important books to yet emerge from the heat, smoke, and fire of America’s War in Afghanistan.

Starfist: First to Fight

Starfist: First to Fight PDF Author: David Sherman
Publisher: Del Rey
ISBN: 0345436547
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 419

Get Book Here

Book Description
“Hard to put down . . . Any book written by Cragg and Sherman is bound to be addictive, and this is the first in what promises to be a great adventure series. First to Fight is rousing, rugged, and just plain fun.”—Ralph Peters, New York Times bestselling author of Red Army “Marines, we have just become a low-tech deep recon patrol . . .” Stranded in a hellish alien desert, stripped of their strategic systems, quick reaction force, and supporting arms, and carrying only a day's water ration, Marine Staff Sergeant Charlie Bass and his seven-man team faced a grim future seventy-five light-years from home. The only thing between his Marines and safety was eighty-five miles of uncharted, waterless terrain and two thousand bloodthirsty savages with state-of-the-art weapons in their hands and murder on their minds. But the enemy didn't reckon on the warrior cunning of Marines’ Marine Charlie Bass and the courage of the few good men who would follow him anywhere--even to death. . .

Finding My Platoon Brothers

Finding My Platoon Brothers PDF Author: Glyn Haynie
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780998209579
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 304

Get Book Here

Book Description
Glyn Haynie carries the names of 13 brothers forever engraved on his heart. They are the names of brothers killed in combat during the War in Vietnam. The bonds formed in battle are unique and not understood by anyone who has not served in the military. The men in their foxholes do not fight for lofty ideals or principles; they fight to protect the man standing on either side of them. For these Vietnam Veterans, there is an additional element included within this bond of brotherhood. That is the disrespect and abuse these soldiers received when they returned from Vietnam. This newest book by author Glyn Haynie, Finding My Platoon Brothers, Vietnam Then and Now, describes his efforts to find and reconnect with his brothers of First Platoon. These men, with whom he served during the War in Vietnam, are a real part of his family. Join the family reunion as these veterans get together and share their experiences, rekindle past friendships, and reforge their bonds of brotherhood. Travel back to Vietnam with the author as he visits old battlefields and former Fire Support Bases and reconnects with, and comes to peace with, the memories of brothers who died in battle. This incredible story of honor, healing, and redemption will touch the hearts of readers in a great many ways. The author includes many photographs, maps, journal excerpts, and well-written descriptions that help the reader truly participate in this incredible journey. This story is a fantastic narrative that all Americans should read.

Joker One

Joker One PDF Author: Donovan Campbell
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 1588367789
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 338

Get Book Here

Book Description
After graduating from Princeton, Donovan Campbell wanted to give back to his country, engage in the world, and learn to lead. So he joined the service, becoming a commander of a forty-man infantry platoon called Joker One. Campbell had just months to train and transform a ragtag group of brand-new Marines into a first-rate cohesive fighting unit, men who would become his family. They were assigned to Ramadi, the capital of the Sunni-dominated Anbar province that was an explosion just waiting to happen. And when it did happen—with the chilling cries of "Jihad, Jihad, Jihad!" echoing from minaret to minaret—Campbell and company were there to protect the innocent, battle the insurgents, and pick up the pieces. Thrillingly told by the man who led the unit of hard-pressed Marines, Joker One is a gripping tale of a leadership and loyalty.

With a Black Platoon in Combat

With a Black Platoon in Combat PDF Author: Lyle Rishell
Publisher: Williams-Ford Texas A&M Univer
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 200

Get Book Here

Book Description
Men. The 24th Infantry Regiment has received bad press from many historians of the Korean conflict, who claim that the black soldiers and noncommissioned officers were undisciplined and even cowardly in battle. Rishell's moving account, based on his own experiences, describes his men as no better or worse than any other infantrymen in the first year in Korea. His troops fought well from July, 1950, to May, 1951, in nearly constant front-line action against the North.